It has been customary in the past to provide backpacks for carrying supplies and equipment which were generally designed to be suspended on a person's back by means of shoulder straps. In addition, lightweight aluminum frames have been employed as an additional means of support for backpacks, or so-called knapsacks, in order to more evenly distribute the load on a person's back while maintaining the desired maneuverability, accessibility and comfort. Any number of backpacks have been devised or utilized in the past, such as the over-the-shoulder sacks, Duluth-type packs complete with tumplines, heavy rucksacks, frame packs, pack frames, and bag combinations, just to name a few. For many uses, however, backpacks presently in commercial use are unduly cumbersome and bulky, limit maneuverability, and after extended periods of wear tend to become very uncomfortable. Moreover, packs presently in use do not provide ready accessibility to any of the compartments without removal of the pack from the back.
In addition, various types of utility belts have been devised with pockets or small compartments to permit carrying of smaller articles or equipment. By and large, such belts have not been so constructed as to provide relatively large compartments or packs which would permit stowing of camping or hiking gear and particularly stowing of relatively bulky objects such as food, blankets, tents or the like.